The cost of fruit went up 6 percent, meat 7.5 percent and bread 4.7 percent. The total debt among its clients reached $933 million, an increase of 121 percent over five years. Age Concern Auckland told RNZ it had seen a 20 to 30 percent increase in calls for help. Labour suffered a crushing defeat in the 2023 election as it oversaw rising living costs and child poverty and a deepening housing crisis. Whatever the outcome of the November 7 general election, the assault on workers’ living standards will continue.